Fade Away
by NancyD1
Summary: **Story in Progress** Chapter 5 finally posted. Companion piece to "Surface". Logan and Eames. Feedback appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Fade Away

Character: Alex Eames/Mike Logan (friendship)

Spoilers (minor): Players and Maltese Cross

Author's Notes: An angst-y piece of work originally a Wheeler/Logan fic, but the muse works in strange ways. A Dick Wolf creation. Feedback gratefully appreciated.

ooOoo

Detective Mike Logan wondered if he'd ever hear the rest of the story about Johnny Wheeler's disappearance. But his partner Megan Wheeler let the matter drop and when he tried to bring it up, she brushed it aside. He knew it was bugging her because he could tell she was distracted at work.

"You okay?" He asked her one night as they were heading out the doors of the precinct after a particularly difficult day at work. Logan was hoping for dinner and a talk. "You don't seem like yourself."

"And what might that be?" Wheeler turned to face him on the steps and tilted her head back to look up at him.

Logan felt warm under her guarded gaze. "I dunno. You're usually more, ah, centered."

"Centered?" Wheeler repeated with a hint of surprise in her voice. "How enlightened of you Logan. There just might be hope for you yet." She shook her head and walked away.

"Hey, wait!" Logan wasn't going to let her get away that easily. "How about some dinner?"

Wheeler called back to him, still walking, "Not tonight. I need to go home and get centered."

Stung from the mocking tone of her voice, Logan turned away but not before seeing her meet a waiting figure, tall and dark and slightly stooped. For the second time that week he watched his partner leave with Robert Goren.

"Damn!" Logan swore out loud.

This burst of temper brought the attention of Alexandra Eames, who had followed them out of the building. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I guess we didn't get the dinner invite." Logan tilted his head in the direction of the two distant figures.

Eames focused on the shadows as they faded into night and Logan noticed that her chin lifted a bit and her lips pressed together into a fine line, a sign that she was as disquieted about this as he was, something that came as a surprise to him.

Finally she said, "Would you like to get some dinner? Do you like Chinese?"

"Yeah, Chinese sounds good." And for some unknown reason Logan took comfort in her unease.

to be continued


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Still getting my sea legs when it comes to LOCI. It's all new to me. Feedback appreciated.

ooOoo

The restaurant was a shabby hole-in-the-wall but the smells were delicious and the elderly couple who were running the place knew Eames on sight.

"Everything here is good, although I'd stay away from the pig's feet," Eames advised.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Logan's smirk masked his growing uncertainty of accepting this dinner invitation. He wasn't sure how the evening would progress, his discomfort coming from the realization he'd never spent this much time with Eames.

"Logan? What's your order?" She cocked her head at the server.

So lost in his thoughts, he wasn't aware that Eames was talking to him. "Uh, 17. Yeah, I'll have 19 with fried rice."

"You want the pig's feet?"

"Oh, no. Sorry." Logan ducked his head behind the menu and picked the closest thing that he knew he could eat. "I meant number 9, the spicy chicken."

"Mm, good choice," and Eames smiled at him, which, for some reason made Logan feel the need to study the Chinese zodiac placemat in great detail.

ooOoo

They ate and talked, mostly about work and their caseloads. And their partners.

"How's Bobby's mom?"

Eames toyed with her chopsticks and sighed. "Not good; it's only a matter of time before she passes."

"Ah, Jesus." Logan was genuinely sympathetic. "Bobby's not getting any help from family?"

"He has a brother, but he's got his own problems," Eames replied, trying to be circumspect. Everyone had skeletons in the family closet but this one wasn't hers to share.

"I've been through it, taking care of a sick parent on my own." Logan didn't go beyond that. His mind drifted back to Goren, and then to Wheeler which gave way to imaginative goings on between the two detectives.

"Hey, you in there?" Eames was giving him a puzzled look. "I lost you for a minute."

"Sorry about that." Logan met Eames' questioning look with what he hoped was a non-chalent smile. "Work."

Eames nodded. "How are things going with Wheeler? It seems like the two of you are settling in with each other."

Logan thought a moment before answering. "Well, Wheeler's a good detective. Instinct is sound, judgment good. So, fine, I guess." He wasn't sure what she was really getting at so he'd let her work for an answer.

"You guess?" Eames raised an eyebrow. "I would think a brawl with a fire house and an investigation would have brought the two of you a little closer." Professionally, she meant, of course.

"Yeah, you'd think, right?" Logan's mind raced back to Wheeler's announcement of her father's possible resurrection.

"You said she's a good detective, with all the qualifying traits, so what's wrong?" Eames thought for a moment. "You don't you trust her?"

"I have to trust her. I do trust her."

"But?"

"I don't know if she trusts me."

"How do you know that? Wheeler has always stood up for you. From what I heard she had your back before, during and after the brawl."

"Yeah, but there's something that's not right for her. It's this thing with her dad. You heard about Johnny Wheeler who disappeared, right? Well, she won't talk to me about it and I was there when she found out he might be alive. Wouldn't that be something that you'd talk to your partner about? You know that if that was my old partner Lenny…"

"Yeah, but she's not Lenny and Wheeler's probably still getting used to you," Eames said.

"But it's been almost a year. Besides, I've shared some of the gory details of my life."

It was on the tip of her tongue to tease him about his infamous dating life but he looked rather grim so she said, "And she's never said anything to you about it since?"

He shook his head.

Eames sat back in her chair and observed the man across from her. It was his slumped demeanor and sour expression on his face that suggested something else, something that alarmed and intrigued her all at once. "Are you sure that's all that's on your mind? You're not bothered about something else?"

"What do you mean?"

Leaning into the table, Eames looked Logan right in the eye. "Most cops I know of wouldn't be bothered with the 'feelings' of their new partners. Either they do the job or they don't." She paused for a moment and then in a quiet voice said, "Is it possible that your concern about Wheeler, might be out of a more, ah, personal interest"

Logan choked on the rice he was chewing. He had to take a few swigs of lukewarm tea to stop coughing. "You're kidding me, right?" He wasn't sure if he should be insulted or pleased.

Eames shrugged her shoulders and gave a little smile. "Well?"

"Well what?" Logan felt the need to challenge this ridiculous idea that just might be true.

His indignation spoke volumes to her. "You like her don't you?"

Damn! Logan thought. How do women figure these things out? They went from talking about trusting your partner to me 'liking' Wheeler. He fiddled with his food for a moment and sighed. She'd get it out of him one way or another. "Alright, I will admit to taking a deeper interest in her lately."

"And?" Eames was sure there was more to this story.

"And under other circumstances I would consider asking her out, but…"

"And what circumstances would those be?"

"Not being my partner for one. Look, the reason…"

"So you _do_ find her attractive?"

"Sure."

"And just what do you find attractive about her? I always thought you were a big busty blonde kinda guy."

Logan laughed. He liked all women, but didn't say so. "Maybe it's the hair or her nose, but for some reason she reminds me of a pixie."

"You mean like in fairy tales, the creatures that run around in the woods with wands?" Eames was incredulous.

"Yeah, I guess." Logan went on, ignoring her amusement. "Alright, she's the tough pixie that carries a gun. And has freckles."

"Freckles?"

"They're cute," Logan smiled but then was suddenly serious. "I'm being honest here; I'm not worried if she is attracted to me now or ever. I just want us to have full confidence in each other. I want us to be tight. Like you and Bobby."

Eames almost dropped her tea cup, surprised at his observation, although she wasn't sure why. "Yeah, sure. We're close." She wanted to go back to teasing Logan about Wheeler.

Logan watched her. "I'm correct in thinking that, right?"

She nodded again, grateful that the server came by with to-go boxes and the check, interrupting this train of thought.

to be continued


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: I changed my mind. There will be more. Feedback appreciated.

ooOoo

Eames drove Logan home and parked in front of his building. Before she could say good-night, he said, "I'm curious as to why you asked me to dinner. I mean we work together, but…" He left this thought hanging not wanting to point out that they existed in different spheres.

"I thought you'd be hungry."

"And it had nothing to do with Goren and Wheeler taking off together?" Logan asked.

It was on the tip of her tongue to lie; it would be so much easier than having to explain the emotional surge she had at the thought of two shadows walking down the street together. She just couldn't trust him with this. How ironic, she thought. His partner can't trust him and neither can I.

Then again, he was more than honest about his attraction to Wheeler and his reasons for not wanting to pursue her. Taking a deep breath, Eames plunged in. "I asked you to dinner 'cause I was ticked at Bobby and I could tell you weren't exactly pleased with Wheeler going with him. So I thought we could be miserable together." Grateful for the darkness, she was sure that her face was pink from embarrassment.

Nodding, Logan said, "Yeah, I thought so. See, you do this thing with your chin and lips that told me you were pissed."

"You're very observant."

"I'm a cop." Logan grinned.

"Not all cops are that aware of the people around them."

The tremor in Eames' voice made Logan backtrack over their conversation and pieces of the evening started falling into place. "Would this have anything to do with your partner?"

Eames wasn't entirely surprised that he figured this out and at the look of sympathy on Logan's face, she let all of her uncertainty pour out. "It's not like Bobby and I were officially dating or anything. We're partners and friends; we do things outside of work and we have a good time together. About a year ago, we started getting a lot closer and I thought, we both thought that we should let it would grow into something bigger. But then Bobby's mom started getting worse and he'd be constantly dealing with doctors and the nursing home. After a while, he just disappeared and whatever had been there ceased to exist." She took a deep breath and swallowed back the unshed tears. "Logan, you don't want to be like us."

He could only nod, surprised and unsure of how to respond to such a revelation.

After a long pause, Eames asked, slowly, "Why do you think he would go to Wheeler? I've done everything I can to let Bobby know that I'm here for him, that I'm supportive and caring and undemanding. I always thought he'd come to me and not, not, someone else." She cleared her throat in an effort to control the emotion washing through her and suppressed the desire to call Wheeler something else, something that rhymed with witch.

Logan shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe they need people outside of the situation they're going through; I don't know. I'm really not good at these things; ask any of my ex-girlfriends."

She looked over at Logan, the shadows around him softening the lines of his face. "Overall though, I bet you were a good boyfriend."

"Most of the time. Depends on the woman." For some reason Logan couldn't meet her eyes.

Silence fell between them and mistaking his lack response for embarrassment, Eames said, "Well, it's been a long day and um, I'm sorry about all of this."

Logan reached out and touched her arm, lightly. "Don't be. This is a difficult time for both of you and I'm sorry that it's not working out. I'm good a listener so anytime you need to talk…" He got out of the car and just as he was about to close the door, he leaned back in and said, "And I do mean that."

The sincerity in his voice made Eames smile.

ooOoo

As she drove away, Eames decided that the first thing she was going to do when she visited her nephew on Sunday was to see if his book of fairy tales had any pictures of pixies, redheads specifically. And maybe while she's at it, she could see if there were any blondes, too.

ooOoo

It wasn't until he got to his apartment, that Logan realized that his leftovers were still in Eames' car. Hopefully she would remember to bring it tomorrow, but if she didn't, he didn't care. He suspected they might be having dinner again.

And that was something he just might look forward to.

/to be continued

ooOoo


	4. Chapter 4

Mike Logan hated research. Right at this very moment he hated his computer, all of the internet and a perp by the name of Marcus Duncan. His existence was non-existent, at least according to Google.

The elevator bell made him look over his shoulder again. But only Captain Ross stepped out of the elevator and Logan turned back to his computer.

Disappointed, Logan studied his partner Megan Wheeler who was engrossed in her own search of the elusive Mr. Miller.

Although she seemed friendlier these past few weeks, Wheeler was still a bit distant. Something, or someone, was occupying her time these days but he wasn't going to ask. Logan had already learned his lesson.

Just as he was about to refocus his efforts on his prey, Alex Eames appeared from the elevator bank with Goren trailing behind her, his head buried in his notes. He was saying, "If you looked at the bookshelf closely, you'll see that three of the four books are upside down..."

But Eames wasn't paying attention to him or anyone else for that matter. She was already at her desk, setting down her purse and switching on her computer. Turning to hang her coat on the back of her chair, she glanced over at Logan, his dark head bent over his paper and fiddling with his pen. But she looked just a moment too long. As she was about to sit down, she caught Wheeler's eye.

There was a thud behind her and she heard Goren say her name. "Eames? Did you hear what I said about the books and the cigarettes?"

She turned. "Yes, that there were ashes found in the spine of the books and they're being sent to the lab for analysis. We might be able link the killer to the victim if we're able to find DNA evidence of said killer in the apartment. I'm going to get coffee."

And with that, she grabbed her mug and walked out.

Ever since Eames had told him about her relationship with Goren, he finally clued into the fact that things weren't right between them and hadn't been for a while.

Logan resisted the urge to go after her. Not that he should really care; besides, a person's relationship with their partner was closer than a marriage and tougher to navigate than the Bermuda Triangle. No one had the right to interfere. He sat there for another moment, contemplating his inner rant. Then again, a friend could comfort another friend. He grabbed his coffee cup and walking out, unaware that two other parties watching him go.

She was sitting at a table; her hand wrapped around her coffee cup like it was a life preserver completely oblivious to the hubbub around her.

"Hey," was all Logan said. He didn't bother to sit down; there were too many eyes in the station.

Eames looked up, tossing her head slightly to move the hair out of her eyes. She didn't look like she was in a chatty mood but Logan tried anyway.

"I tried that Thai place you told me about," he said. Food was way to get her talk.

"Did you like the pad thai?"

"Mm, no, not as much as that place on West 57th."

"Really? That vermin trap?"

"The Chinese place you love has so many code violations that even the rats have written them up."

Eames laughed and he was satisfied to see her relaxed, even for a moment. She always seemed so serious. It wasn't until he started hanging out with her these past few weeks that he realized that she rarely smiled.

She gestured towards the chair next to her. "Would you like to sit?" Eames needed a distraction from Goren and his brain.

"Nah, I've got to get back to finding Duncan. I can't leave all the fun to Wheeler." Logan gave her a grin and left.

It had been on the tip of her tongue to call after him but the number of people in the cafeteria made Eames think twice and no doubt someone had taken notice of the two of them. She paused and realized she liked the sound of that. The two of them.

She wished she had asked him to dinner tonight and she wished that the whole room had heard her so that it would make its way back to Bobby. He would probably analyze the hell out of it, let it fester a bit and then study her for the rest of the day. But it wasn't about his attention; well, not completely. Truth be told, it was mostly about a pixie-ish woman with red hair.

Realizing that she couldn't hide from her partner forever, Eames made her way back to the office. As she got out of the elevator, she caught Logan's eye and smiled.

Then it hit her. That was the first real thing that she felt that whole day.

/to be continued

ooOoo

Feedback Appreciated


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Apologies for taking so long to update! I will finish, I promise.

ooOoo

The phone vibrated again. It was the fifth time in the last hour. Or was it the sixth? Eames was beginning to lose count. She tried like hell to ignore the damn thing, but much like its owner, she just couldn't.

She wasn't sure where Goren went. It couldn't be far; the phone was usually attached to him. Try as she might, she couldn't refocus on her computer. Eames couldn't remember what they discussed after they found the blood stains on the desk chair. Of course, if Goren was there, she'd be able to ask him. With renewed effort she went back to work but that peace was broken a short time later when Robert Goren returned.

It used to amuse her that he could take over any room with his presence, even a room full of cops. There was such a strong sex appeal, such intellectual magnetism that she used to like how it would envelop her and swept her along into his whirlwind. But this had passed and now she was merely annoyed with herself for being so foolish.

"Have you seen my phone?" He asked, the words were rushed, tinged with panic.

"On your desk. It rang a couple of minutes ago." She didn't bother looking up and sheer stubbornness kept her from asking him anything now, no matter how badly she wanted it.

"Damn!" Goren dug through is desk, finding it under a stack of papers, not bothering with keeping the files from sliding into one another and onto the floor.

Eames could hear his mother's reedy voice over his labored breath in each successive message. He swore again. "I gotta go," was all he said and with one motion his cell phone snapped shut, he scooped up his coat and left.

There wasn't anything she could do. Protesting got her nowhere, just a delayed view of his back as he ran for the elevator. She knew everyone was watching her, unsure it was pity or disgust that they felt. Her fingers tapped the keyboard but the will to continue failed her. Anger seethed under the surface. He was her partner. They were supposed to trust each other, back each other up. But this was too hard. He was tearing at every nerve in her being.

Without thinking, she jumped out of her seat and walked into Captain Ross' office and shut the door.

ooOoo

He was pretending not to notice her talking to Ross. Although her back was to him, Logan could see her ignoring the Captain's request to sit down. Her gestures were emphatic and head shook with frustration. She was fed up. Stealing one last look, he tore his eyes away and looked straight at Wheeler. He couldn't quite read the expression on her face and preferring not to know went back to work without comment.

ooOoo

It had been a long day, longer than normal it seemed to Logan. Although the business of law and order continued around them, the tension surrounding Alex Eames was palatable, keeping everyone including Logan himself, away from her.

He knew she would talk to him but now wasn't the time. Maybe some night this week they would go out. There was a new Italian place that opened up near his apartment. His thoughts immediately froze. No, he wasn't doing that. At least not with Eames; she was different.

But he didn't want to wait. So Logan managed to time his departure with hers, which wasn't that hard to do, considering his present case load. He was waiting for her as she exited the building.

"Hey."

"Hi." Eames didn't bother to hide her smile.

They walked a bit before she spoke again, almost as if they thought someone was lurking. "Aren't you off tomorrow? I was thinking of going to a movie in the afternoon. Would you like to join me?" Eames immediately felt foolish. She was sure Logan heard the nervous squeak in her voice.

"I'd love to but I have a court appearance for a case," he said. "For all I know I'll just sit in the courtroom for the whole day and they never get to me." Eames tried to mask her disappointment but Logan caught it anyway. "What about when I'm done? The court can't keep me past 5:00pm and as long as no one is killed under mysterious circumstances sometime tomorrow and neither of us is needed to solve it, we can at least have dinner."

"Okay," Eames hoped she sounded casual. She wasn't used to asking guys out on dates. They usually did the pursuing and she did the rejecting. At least, that's what she told herself.

"I'll call you in tomorrow once I get an idea of what time I may be called."

Something was better than nothing, she thought. Aloud she said, "That sounds good to me." They had reached the parking garage entrance. Eames looked behind her and then at Logan, trying to shake an odd feeling. "Do you need a ride? I can drop you off somewhere."

For a split second Logan considered it and then immediately rejected it. There was something about her right at this moment that he had to remove himself from her space.

"Thanks, but I need a walk tonight. Too much sitting." He too looked around.

"I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow," Eames said, reaching for her car keys.

"Yeah, tomorrow. I look forward to it." And before Eames could say anything else, Logan gave her a smile and quickly walked away into the night.

/to be continued

ooOoo

Feedback appreciated


End file.
